In the commercial district, rows of umbrellas brushed past each other, but it was unclear what the people holding them saw that made them willingly step aside.
Hoshino and Cyclizar walked among them, Hoshino's body wrapped in blood-stained bandages, one eye covered, and the iconic goggles hanging around his neck cracked.
Although he looked incredibly chuunibyo, in this lighting and environment, he appeared very unsettling; Halloween was already over, after all.
"Even if I'm battle-damaged… daily check-ins are absolutely essential!"
Hoshino had his own stubbornness; even though his injuries were more severe this time than last, he still stubbornly ran out of the hospital, and no, it wasn't because the hospital rooms charged by the hour.
However, these weren't the main reasons. Ten minutes ago, while he was eating at the hospital, he suddenly received a message from the owner of the claw machine arcade.
The owner said that the Gengar plushie had been pried out and stolen by someone when no one was around, so he rushed over without even removing his bandages.
"Those brats, did they finally make their move?!"
Without even thinking, Hoshino knew it had to be those guys. He had been keeping an eye on them every day he worked, and he was surprised they could hold back for half a month.
Arriving at the store with Cyclizar, there was still a long time until closing, but there were no customers to be seen, only a few employees responsible for maintenance, performing daily checks and preparing to leave.
Upon seeing his sudden arrival, these people were startled. Hoshino didn't pay them any mind, placed his umbrella at the entrance, and went to check the machine. Sure enough, the Gengar plushie was gone, and there were signs of it being pried open.
"Cycli!"
Cyclizar pointed to the surveillance camera not far away, telling him to go look. Hoshino nodded and headed straight for the front desk.
The lady at the front desk was feeding her Cutiefly some Sweet Honey, preparing to tidy up and go home. Seeing his sudden appearance, she was also startled, almost knocking over the jar of Sweet Honey.
"Uh… can I check the surveillance, please? Thanks."
"Yes, yes, yes…"
Hoshino had truly scared her. He quickly reviewed the surveillance footage for that period. Although due to the angle, he didn't see who pried it open.
However, ten minutes before the incident, a small child had run into the store and only left after the incident occurred. And this child looked a little familiar.
It was the little brat from half a month ago who kept complaining that the machine was faulty. Hoshino would see this guy sneaking around every other day, doing god knows what.
It seemed he had been planning this for a while, just waiting for Hoshino to be away so he could secretly make his move.
"He left 21 minutes ago. It's been a while, but he didn't bring an umbrella, so he can't have gone far. Let's go. How can something I protect be stolen by such a brat?!"
"Cycli!"
That Gengar plushie was one they hadn't managed to catch for half a month, and now it had been stolen. It was unforgivable! They had to punish him three times, yes, three times!
Hoshino took Cyclizar and went straight out. Immediately, a map of the entire commercial district appeared before his eyes. The camera at the entrance had captured which way the culprit left, so all he had to do was follow that path!
At the same time, in an alley just outside the shopping plaza, several children seemed to have encountered something terrifying, screaming as they ran out.
A pink Gengar plushie was casually thrown into a puddle by these panicked kids as they fled.
Rain continued to fall rapidly from the overcast night sky, hitting the Gengar plushie, and the water level in the puddle gradually rose.
After the plushie became wet and soaked, its cute girly pink color gradually turned gray. Having absorbed the rainwater, its body weight increased, making it unable to even turn over.
It lay on its side, its eyes emitting a faint red glow, watching the fleeing children in the distance through the blur.
…
After an unknown amount of time, at a street corner on the other side of the commercial district, Hoshino finally caught the brat who stole the plushie.
Half a minute ago, he watched these kids running in the rain, and with quick reflexes, he directly pulled the person out from among them.
"You're bullying a child! You're shameless!"
"If I had any shame, I wouldn't be here. Where's the thing you stole from the store? Hand it over!"
Cyclizar helped hold the umbrella, also standing by with an unhappy expression. How could it be cheerful in this situation?
"Steal what?! What plushie? You're slandering my innocence for no reason! And you call yourself a Trainer? I'm going to tell Jenny about you!"
Seeing that the brat was still being stubborn, Hoshino didn't waste any more words with him. He directly grabbed the boy's ear, pursed his lips, and said coldly, "Oh? Want to go back and check the surveillance with me? Or should I call your parents?!"
"Waaah! He's hitting me!"
The pain in his ear made the brat instantly wail, but Hoshino caught sight of the smartwatch on his wrist, so he directly took it off, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Seeing this, the brat immediately quieted down and became anxious, reaching out to snatch it back.
But how could such a scrawny kid compare to Hoshino, who had gained this battle-damaged physique from outsmarting Pokémon?!
He held the boy down with one hand, then pressed the speed dial on the watch. After a few buzzes, the call was answered.
"Hello? Son, why aren't you back for dinner so late? Your mom bought your favorite cake today. Come home quickly."
Hearing his father's voice, the brat's expression panicked, and he quickly shouted, "I'll tell you, I'll tell you! That haunted plushie, I threw it in the alley outside the shopping plaza! Please, don't call my dad!"
"Haunted plushie?" Hoshino was slightly stunned.
"That's right, its eyes glow…"
"…"
He pondered for a moment, then calmly said to the person on the watch, "This account of yours is almost useless. If you can't save it, just start a new alt account."
"Who are you?! Where's my son?!"
Hoshino ignored the other party's curses. After releasing the brat, he threw the watch back to him, then left with Cyclizar. As for what would happen next, it wasn't important.
…
The night deepened, and the rain continued to wash over the streets. Pedestrians became even scarcer, but under the reflection of Hau'oli City's neon lights, the entire city displayed a unique beauty.
In the dim, gloomy, deserted alley, the Gengar plushie lay on its side in a puddle that covered half its body, allowing the heavy rain to batter it.
It was still clutching its stomach, its face still wearing that mischievous smile, its eyes emitting a faint red glow, gazing at the humans walking freely in the distance under the neon lights. Then, a raindrop slid from the corner of its eye…
But in the next moment, as if through tear-filled eyes, two figures seemed to be rapidly approaching, accompanied by joyful voices.
"Found it, found it."
"Cycli~"
"That brat didn't give specific details, making me have to search around by following the shiny spot."
Hoshino picked up the cold Gengar plushie from the puddle. He didn't care if it was dirty or not, simply cradling it in his arms, saying softly with some concern, "It's completely soaked. It needs to be thoroughly dried. This little skirt seems like it can be taken off…"
"Gengar…"
Looking at the familiar face of the person holding it, the Gengar plushie's eyes brightened even more, as if it was about to cry.
"Why are you crying? You should be smiling at a time like this." Hoshino squeezed the water from the Gengar plushie, looked at its glowing eyes, and asked curiously, "So, are you really a Pokémon?"
"Gengar~"
"No wonder. So why were you staying there? Did you have nowhere else to go?"
"Gengar…"
"Is that so…"
Hoshino roughly understood its meaning, then smiled and asked, "Want to come to my place? Although the space isn't very big, it's perfectly fine to stay, and you can always visit downstairs."
"Gengar…"
After a long pause, Gengar finally responded with a low growl, clearly refusing the offer. Hoshino looked at its perpetually mischievous smile and understood its meaning.
"Cycli…"
"Alright, let's go back to the store. Since it was a stolen plushie, it naturally needs to be put back in its original place. That's our job."
Hoshino held the Gengar plushie in his arms, and with Cyclizar's help holding the umbrella, he walked towards the claw machine arcade. Although it took a long time, fortunately, the store hadn't completely closed yet, and the owner was still inside.
Arriving in front of the pried-open machine, he wrung out all the water from the Gengar plushie, put it back inside, and looked at it through the glass once more.
"Cycli…"
Cyclizar lay on the glass, looking at the plushies inside, not understanding the intention. It wanted to smash the glass and take the plushie out.
However, at this moment, Hoshino, who had quietly left for a bit, returned. He sat in front of the machine as usual, inserted the two coins he had just exchanged, and began to operate it with a serious expression.
The claw still easily grabbed the Gengar plushie, but this time it held it very steadily, and the plushie didn't cause any trouble.
Watching the claw slowly move above the exit, he released it. As the plushie dropped out, he seemed to hear a happy growl.
Hoshino had finally achieved his goal of breaking his limit, which he had been working towards for over half a month.
He picked up the Gengar plushie again, gently caressing it, and said with a smile, "If it's a plushie you like, then you must catch it yourself and take it home, right~"
"Cycli~"
"Let's go, let's go home together!"
"Gengar~"
The mischievous smile on Gengar's face seemed to truly become a happy smile at that moment…
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